LUZI HAIL > Professor
Accounting
From: Chur, Graubünden.
Work: Professor of Accounting at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Hobbies: Skiing, hiking (how typical Swiss), reading, soccer (but only watching).
Recent music: Udo Lindenberg, Urchig von Göla.
Favorite food from Switzerland: Schnipo (veal cutlet with french fries), Maluns (local dish made of potatoes), Gipfeli (croissant), Wähe (fruit or cheese pie).
Favorite spot in Switzerland: On top of a mountain (ideally when there is a cable car or gondola leading up to it).
How did you get started in teaching, specifically what drew you to the field of accounting?
It all starts with a good instructor. I had a great professor back at the University of Zurich, and so I got hooked. I got interested in the topic, and the more I learned about it I started to realize: “Hey, this is not just about numbers and bookkeeping, this is about information, decision making, and human behavior.” Accounting – as boring as it may sound – is actually quite interesting. I see it as economics, but using accounting numbers to explain what firms, managers or investors do. So, typically, when I get asked, “What do you do?”, my answer is “I am an economist and analyze the use of accounting numbers.” This better describes my work.
What was the biggest obstacle in your career and how did you overcome it?
Breaking out of the comfort zone of daily life in Switzerland. I went to school there, I went to college there, and I am sure, I could have pursued many interesting careers in Switzerland. I would be perfectly happy. Several times when I was working during my college years or afterward when I was an assistant professor at the University of Zurich, I had to say to myself: “You have to change gears, else you will end up here.” Don’t get me wrong here, not that this would have been a bad outcome. I would have loved it, but I always felt that there must be something else I wanted to explore. I got this probably from my dad. This inner urge is what led us to uproot our family and move to the United States for a change. I am very lucky to have a wife who supported me in all these endeavors.
Why did you choose Pennsylvania?
In our profession, it typically works the other way around. It is not that I chose Pennsylvania, but that the University of Pennsylvania offered me a job when I was on the rookie accounting market back in 2004. This was a big opportunity for me, one I never would have dreamt of. If you want to pursue an academic career in accounting, then there are not that many places that can top Wharton. So, in a way, it was luck and coincidence that we ended up in the Philadelphia area. I remember, when I was in Philly for my job interview (we were living in Seattle at the time), I was not overly impressed by the city. I sat in a rundown cab from the airport to University City, passing by the refineries and industrial complexes. But the city and the area definitively grow on you and I very much appreciate what it has to offer and how lively and livable it is. I now understand why many people who grew up here – very atypical for the U.S. – hardly ever move or often come back to their childhood roots to raise their own family.
What do you believe is the most important quality to have as a professor in accounting?
Again, it goes back to my days when I was a student. I had no clue what accounting was, and was not very interested in the topic. But somehow the professor pulled me in. I try to do the same with my students now. I know they are not coming to Wharton to become a bookkeeper or CPA, and they see my class rather as a burden than something they take out of self-interest (I am currently teaching an introductory accounting class to undergraduate students). So, I try my best to overcome this reluctance towards the topic and show them how useful it can be. On the first day of class, I tell them that, invariably, in one shape or form they will be exposed to accounting information in their future career. So, they better know what they will have to deal with. They look at me with big eyes. However, at the end of the semester, when a few of the students write in their course evaluations that the course was much more interesting than what they thought, or even better when sometimes I receive an email from a former student telling me that accounting turned out to be the most useful topic they had learned in college. This kind of feedback makes my day.
What do you miss most about Switzerland?
Family, of course, the scenery, some food items like the bread, yogurt, or the sausages. Oh, I almost forgot, the public transportation system. Whenever we go to the city to catch a show or for dinner, we end up watching the timetable. Do we make the 10.15 pm train, or do we have to wait for another hour? Uber has made life easier in that regard. More seriously, the typical Swiss way of organizing things or the reliability, almost predictability, are qualities we sometimes miss. Just think of when you last had to deal with your cable guy or a handyman. On the other hand, the Swiss could benefit from a bit more openness and willingness to take chances. This can-do attitude we often see here in the U.S. would sometimes be helpful.
We welcome your comments at swissimpact.pa@gmail.com
Thank you!